Bringing Out Coastal Fishing Communities from The Troubled Waters

“The Indo Pacific region is facing a complex web of security challenges including boundary disputes and piracy, which needs a collaborative approach”

These lines were said by Ministry of Defence of India Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the 13th Indo-Pacific Army Chiefs Conclave. At the microscopic level the challenge is faced by the coastal communities which are one of the primary users and stakeholders in the coastal state. In this article we shall observe five key challenges faced by the coastal community with special emphasis on the fishing community in India.

While the seas have been nurturing human civilisation from time immemorable. The fishers face many challenges, we have highlighted five key challenges in form of spokes that are currently “pinning” the fishers.

1. Boat Capsizing and Boat collision

While the accidents can occur anywhere, one of the major challenges is the capsizing of the boats either mid sea or at the coast. For example, recently Bapatla district in Andhra Pradesh witnessed boat capsizing which led to missing of three persons onboard including two children. In another incident a fisherman died after the boat capsized in Kosasthalaiyar, a river in Tamil Nadu. Munambam coast in Kerala is one of the recent locations where a fisherman had died due to collision between two boats.

2. Accidental damage and law enforcement

A recent fire at Vizag fishing harbour, Andhra Pradesh led to destruction of 45 mechanised boats. In addition, it caused huge environmental loss by burning of diesel stored on the boats, affecting the biodiversity around the area and causing unnecessary pollution. Also, the boats are regularly impounded for various reasons. Recently fishing boats were impounded at Thikkodi fish landing centre in Kozhikode, Kerala.

3. Environmental damage

The third spoke has been one of the emerging threats to the communities around the world. The fishing community are the most affected communities due to climate change and changing environmental conditions. For example, if the weather is not suitable for fishing the fishers cannot venture into the sea. Recently 750 mechanised fishing boats from Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu could not venture into the sea due to bad weather. Another major impacting sub-factor is the sea erosion which is displacing the coastal settlement, impacting fishing routes and harbours in the coastal areas. The changing coastline is causing large scale displacement among the coastal communities. There has been stages of protest across the coastal states demanding for actions to check sea erosion. Another major and collective impact of the environmental damage is the fish kill which acts as the “bone breaker” for the fishing community. It leads to economic as well as nutritional loss leading to degrading health and economic stability of the fishing communities. This forces the community members to either engage in illegal activities or cause displacement. Recently it was observed that poverty-stricken minors from other areas were found labouring in aqua processing units in Andhra Pradesh.

4. Boundary disputes and piracy

As seen in previous spoke “environmental damage”, it results in displacement and illegal activities and one of them is piracy. The environmental damage causes the fishers to venture far into the seas and sometimes leading to entering the waters which are claimed by other states. The situation becomes even critical when the dispute evolved is on International Land and Maritime Boundaries international maritime boundary as seen in Tamil Nadu. Recently in past four months around 200 fishermen at various occasions have been arrested by Sri Lanka Navy in addition to seizure of boats around the southern tip of Tamil Nadu causing a huge geopolitical tension among the two nations. Recently AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) Progressive Federation’s former coordinator Panneerselvam O stated that?“the continued occurrence of incidents such as the arrest of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan authorities created a “sense of insecurity” among the State’s fisherfolk”. The Sri Lanka Navy arrested the fishermen by claiming on the charges of poaching, trespassing and cross-border fishing in the territorial waters of the Island nation. The dispute irked key stakeholders on both sides. While the Sri Lankan side fishers claims that the Indian fishers faces no consequences for poaching despite laws, the Indian side claim the release of their peers when arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy through protest. Recently fishermen from Tharuvaikulam, a village in Tamil Nadu were detained in Maldives with boat. However, it is not just the Indian fishers who venture into far seas. Recently two Sri Lankan Fishermen were arrested at Kodiyakkarai coast in Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu when their boat came ashore.

5. Maritime security

The last and the most crucial “spoke” in this study is the maritime security. One of the biggest challenges in the region is robbery at the sea. One of the areas, Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu has been facing some mid-sea robbery in the past 5 months. The district lies close to the International Maritime Boundary line. The site is similar where Sri Lankan fishermen have been arrested simultaneously during the same time window. Around 20 various incidents of mid sea robbery with the fishers have been reported in past 4 months temporally.??

Balancing out the challenge

While the first two “spokes” are “general” and can happen anytime and anywhere. The remaining three “spokes” are a key point to understand from this article. So what development activities are being taken to protect the fishing communities from the aforementioned 3 spokes.

To nullify spoke 3 and promote the livelihood of the coastal fishing community, aqua and seafood festivals are being organised by the government at various occasions. One of it was recently concluded in Rajamahendravaram, a city on the eastern banks of Godavari River in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Even ICAR- Indian Council of Agricultural Research Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute which works under the Ministry of Earth Sciences proposed to establish mariculture Parks to boost coastal fish production in a scientific manner. The proposal was aimed to meet the increasing demand for food and nutritional resources, while also preserving the marine ecosystem.

Government of India Official has been showing its commitment to protect the interests of the fishing community across India. In this regard Union Minister of Fisheries Parshottam Rupala emphasised the top priority of Centre to protect the interest of fishing community across India. He had highlighted about the Sagar Parikrama Yatra, across coastal areas of east and west coasts to assess the progress of various central schemes and his interaction with fishing community and understand their problems and experiences. In the fishermen arrest cases by Sri Lanka Navy , the Union Government was swift in operating the diplomatic channels. Led by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman , who spoke to Union Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay on the issue and resolved the simmering tension between the coastal communities across borders. The result was the freeing of Indian fishermen held by Sri Lankan Navy. In addition, the Indian maritime forces have been actively engaging themself in protecting the coastal communities through rescue operations. Whether it’s a distress call at high sea, machinery breakdown, medical assistance, or boat strandings the INDIAN COAST GUARD has been conducting successful rescue missions. It’s not just the fishers but the people at sea, irrespective of the nationality. Recently, INDIAN COAST GUARD on the request of Indian Maritime Search and Rescue Region (ISRR)?rescued a 49- year-old Chinese national suffering from stroke combined with hemiplegia from a Panama-flagged vessel MT Hua Wei 8 off the Mumbai coast.?

In addition, coastal security police in addition with Indian Navy and INDIAN COAST GUARD has planned to introduce “vibrant village” programme. The aim is to prevent migration of coastal communities. The “means” in the programme is to raise the standard of people living near the coast by providing road connectivity, water and power supply. The resultant of the “vibrant village” programme would be a symbiotic relationship, leading to higher vigilance and detection of any suspicious movement of boats in the high seas.

The last spoke discussed in the article is of “maritime security”, one of the most critical aspects of this study. The region dominated by “complex web of security challenges”, needs a reliable partner.

India at the heart of the region is a preferred leading partner for any nation in the region. If India do develop its defence capabilities it would provide a stability in the region and balance out any tilting of powers among other nations.

The Indian Navy has been focusing on helping neighbouring nation and believes in the philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’?(The World is One Family) and have a proven record of coordinating and completing projects that has only supported in maintaining regional stability and respecting other nations territorial integrity.? In this regard, INS Sumedha recently operated in the Atlantic Ocean Gulf of Guinea along the West Coast of Africa and undertook a 31 days anti-piracy patrol.? On issues such as mid sea robbery, arrest of Sri Lankan fishermen and other maritime security challenges in Palk Bay, Gulf of Mannar Indian maritime forces have been keeping a dialogue between the stakeholders. A discussion on such issues took place at the 33rd?edition of annual International Maritime Boundary Line meeting?onboard INS Sumitra at the Indo - Sri Lanka Maritime Boundary Line off Point Calimere at Palk Bay. India has been enhancing its capabilities by conducting coastal security exercise Sagar Kavach to assess the efficacy and robustness of the coastal security mechanism while dealing with an asymmetric threat emanating from the sea.

To establish such capacity and capabilities the Ministry of Defence of India inked US $ 2.2 million deal with Hindustan Shipyard Limited - India Hindustan Shipyard Limited to acquire five fleet support for the Indian Navy . The fleet support would be used for providing assistance during disaster relief operations.? The addition of stealth frigate “Vindhyagiri” launched by Droupadi Murmu - 15th President of Republic of India is done to boost the response action in the region. Recently Indian Navy “amini” shallow water craft was launched to undertake anti-submarine operations in coastal waters, as also Low Intensity Maritime operations and Mine Laying Operations. To further bolster maritime security and augment its maritime capabilities the INDIAN COAST GUARD has acquired 9 copters used for maritime surveillance and 6 C-295 aircrafts for maritime patrol. It’s not just the military enhancement but the social enhancement been taking place. The INDIAN COAST GUARD regularly organises “unity run” in different geographical locations to improve the mindset of the communities by engaging people in healthy activities.

Are these capacity building and capability enhancement in the right direction? Are these upgradations enough to meet the challenges occurring at the sea? A detailed policy recommendation can be asked to author. The author is a qualified marine biologist and looks after the events occurring in the maritime zones that can impact the global maritime “Blue Economy”.